Storm puts damper on Thunder Beach, bikers say

Thunder Beach

Andrew P Johnson | The News Herald

By SCOTT CARROLL | The News Herald

Published: Friday, October 4, 2013 at 11:02 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Keith and Michelle Williams have traveled from Jackson, Tenn. for Thunder Beach the last five years, but this is the first time they’ve had their eyes on the weather as much as the motorcycles.

Sitting outside Ms. Newby’s bar and liquor store Friday afternoon with dozens of other bikers, Keith Williams said he’s been checking for updates on Tropical Storm Karen two or three times a day.

“I hate it. I hate rain. It’s no fun. It takes all the fun out of riding a bike. You come down here for sunshine and this,” he said, gesturing toward a fleet of motorcycles parked nearby. “And a lot of people like to go to the beach.”

Though weather conditions have been sunny and pleasant during Thunder Beach, for the most part, several bikers said that many of their two-wheeling brethren are cutting short their visit to the annual rally to avoid Tropical Storm Karen.

From behind a pair of black sunglasses, Lee Hudson looked around the parking lot at Ms. Newby’s on Friday and shook his head.

“Usually this whole parking lot and the street is full,” he said. “Half my friends left yesterday because of the storm. They rode their bikes back to avoid the storm, so then you’ve got half the turnout.”

Hudson was checking the weather app on his cellphone for storm updates Friday. The concern for motorcyclists, he said, is that they’re especially endangered by high winds and wet roads. And as Tropical Storm Karen is expected to dump rain across the Southeast after moving over the Panhandle, it would be a long and dangerous ride home for out-of-town bikers.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Keith and Michelle Williams have traveled from Jackson, Tenn. for Thunder Beach the last five years, but this is the first time they’ve had their eyes on the weather as much as the motorcycles.

Sitting outside Ms. Newby’s bar and liquor store Friday afternoon with dozens of other bikers, Keith Williams said he’s been checking for updates on Tropical Storm Karen two or three times a day.

“I hate it. I hate rain. It’s no fun. It takes all the fun out of riding a bike. You come down here for sunshine and this,” he said, gesturing toward a fleet of motorcycles parked nearby. “And a lot of people like to go to the beach.”

Though weather conditions have been sunny and pleasant during Thunder Beach, for the most part, several bikers said that many of their two-wheeling brethren are cutting short their visit to the annual rally to avoid Tropical Storm Karen.

From behind a pair of black sunglasses, Lee Hudson looked around the parking lot at Ms. Newby’s on Friday and shook his head.

“Usually this whole parking lot and the street is full,” he said. “Half my friends left yesterday because of the storm. They rode their bikes back to avoid the storm, so then you’ve got half the turnout.”

Hudson was checking the weather app on his cellphone for storm updates Friday. The concern for motorcyclists, he said, is that they’re especially endangered by high winds and wet roads. And as Tropical Storm Karen is expected to dump rain across the Southeast after moving over the Panhandle, it would be a long and dangerous ride home for out-of-town bikers.

“I’m not going to do that. I’m going to trailer mine,” Hudson said. “They called me a sissy the entire way down here because I was going to trailer my bike. But you see who left early.”

Keith Williams shared his sentiment.

“If I was riding up and down the street, I’d be miserable,” he said.

Friday night, Thunder Beach officials had not announced any event cancellations due to Tropical Storm Karen. A spokesperson for the motorcycle rally could not be reached for comment.

Several Thunder Beach vendors selling T-shirts, food and motorcycle paraphernalia said they were already prepared to skip the last day of the rally, which is Sunday. Tropical Storm Karen is expected to make landfall on the Panhandle Sunday.

Some beach hotels and condominiums also were losing money thanks to Tropical Storm Karen. Paradise Found Resorts & Hotels vice president Julie Hilton said Friday the company had seen cancellations from 30-40 percent of guests at Holiday Inn Resort, Paradise Palms, Holiday Inn Select, Days Inn Beach and Casa Loma. Hilton said the hotels usually draw big crowds for Thunder Beach, but presumed many bikers didn’t want to risk bad weather.

“It hurts us really badly,” she said. “We were expecting a great weekend, and we’re going to be significantly behind last year.”

It was different story at properties managed by the Resort Collection, according to Paul Wohlford, the group’s vice president of sales and marketing. He said staffers fielded several calls from concerned guests earlier in the week regarding Karen’s path and the agency’s cancellation policy, but Friday afternoon was business as usual.

“We’ve had very few cancellations, especially with Thunder Beach going on and concerts going on,” Wohlford said. “Especially since the storm has kicked west a little bit, we haven’t gotten many calls today at all.”

The Resort Collection manages Edgewater Beach Resort, which is an official Thunder Beach venue.

CANCELED

-The Panama City Beach Fire Department annual Fire Prevention Open House that had been scheduled for Saturday will be postponed until Nov. 9, due to the potential for bad weather.

-Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Crews announced Friday the cancellation of weekend visitation at Pensacola and Panama City work release centers. The cancellation until further notice is due to weather from what is currently Tropical Storm Karen.